otherbitches | IC Inbox [ RUBI ]

No. [ He's frowning, his own cigarette burning down. ] That's not a good idea.

[ Partially because he can't contextualize how he feels. Even the obvious ones he can't put to words: Hurt, about Danny; fear, that he's not enough for her on his own; jealousy, but of what exactly, he couldn't say. ]

And I don't know. We'll see about that. [ He breathes hard through his nose. He does need to talk to Murphy. Check the temperature. Check on him. Jem too. ] Are you going to talk to him?

Don’t wait until it all rots. ( that’s the last of it. eddie knows all about keeping something inside until it’s a nasty, rotted thing ruining everything else it touches. he used to think of himself like that, in the days when being anyone but eddie munson would have made life worth living. )

Probably not today, but yeah. The whole cavalry’s probably too much in one day. ( he needs to try but he’s sure that today it’ll just press deep into a sore wound. he fishes the tin of cigarettes from his pocket, pulls another out and tucks it behind his ear before holding the thin tin out to billy. there’s four rolled cigarettes in there, all pure tobacco. ) Here.

Are you coming back home tonight or are you going to check on him and crash there? ( he asks but there’s no judgement in his voice, neither answer is going to set him off. )

[ Billy rotted once, insides turned to chemical rot, stinking of that other dimension. He nods. It'll come to a head eventually, won't it? Billy can gnaw a bone and not let go. On the other hand, he can deflect like a motherfucker. ]

Probably. He needs it though. Don't wait too long.

He thinks— [ Amends: ] Probably thinks you're done with him. The other proxies too. [ Stiffly: ] I would.

[ He breathes through his nose, closes his hand around the tin Eddie offers, feels the warmth in his ribcage. Says slowly: ] I'm going to check on him. Then I'm coming by. I need to check in with Jem.

I'm in her corner too.

Yeah. I won’t and I’m not. ( he nods too, in response. he’d think the same thing in murphy’s shoes but, well, it’s been difficult. murphy wasn’t in the driving seat, didn’t do this and eddie doesn’t blame him, but he’s still the center of a good chunk of eddie’s nightmares. the more fucked up dreams feature a gentle touch, a hand to his cheek that turns into a tentacle around his neck.

another nod and then eddie’s digging around the other pocket, this time pulls out a key. he steps in front of billy instead of beside him, reaches out to slip the key into one of his coat pockets. ) So you can get in. I got the lock fixed finally.

( so someone can stop bitching and worrying about it.

he doesn’t need that last assurance from billy but it’s appreciated. ) I know you are, man.

[ Eddie slips in front of him and Billy pauses, his hand dipping into his pocket to feel the warm metal. ]

Good. This isn't your hick small town. Keep it locked.

[ Said automatically. A rote argument at this point. It won't stop a monster. A magic user. Someone transformed. But, it's security. Not a ward, but something. ]

Hey. [ His hand reaches out, circles Eddie's forearm before he can slip away. It's not easy, but it's easy with Jem. Easier with others too, sometimes. They aren't from home, they don't know the discomfort of standing here, staring into Eddie Munson's eyes and knowing that Eddie also knows what they'd get called back home. ] Thanks. [ Mumbled before he tips forward, pressing their mouths together. ]

No shit? ( eddie snorts at that, glad that billy has enough humor left in him to take a blow at hawkins. that's probably easy to do, even eddie has enough energy for the one-two punch at the old hometown on a shit day.

the hand on his forearm catches him off-guard, as much as it shouldn't. he's not sure why it's so goddman hard with billy when it isn't with anyone else, when even back home he'd kissed curious jocks who were guaranteed to punch him after with less tension in his shoulders. maybe it's the taste of home he sometimes imagines on billy's tongue, maybe it's that they both understand that no matter what they would have wanted -- this sort of thing needed to stay in the shadows kissing out in the open, where anyone could pass by? without risking something? yeah, not in hawkins. not in most places back home where they kept the lights on.

billy has a pretty flush to his cheeks from the cold; eddie feels a little mesmerized by it before their lips meet. he tilts his head, one hand coming up to cup billy's cheek. there's stubble under his palm, warm skin. the kiss is chaste, short and sweet. eddie stays close for just a moment, wants to linger longer in billy's space like they're behind closed doors where it's easier; for now it's just long enough to ask -- ) Try not stay out in the woods too late? Since you're walking back.

( stay safe. )

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